Terry Hall & Mushtaq

Terry Hall & Mushtaq: A Tale Of Woe from the CD Hour Of Two Lights (2003)


Terry Hall & Mushtaq / Ten Eleven (Live)

TERRY HALL & MUSHTAQ
The Hour of Two Lights : Release Date: August 26, 2003

Terry Hall's career has always been one of spotting trends and breaking new ground. In the early '80s he helped spearhead the hugely popular ska revival as lead vocalist with The Specials, who went on to become one of the most popular and influential bands of the punk era inspiring the likes of Rancid, Blur and No Doubt and The Basement Jaxx. Hall followed that up with Fun Boy Three, ushering in a musical eclecticism seldom heard in the pop charts and on mainstream radio.

Throughout these projects as well as his subsequent group, The Colourfield, and several solo albums, Terry Hall's understated, evocative vocals has continued to be one of the most distinctive and recognizable voices in all rock music. Now, together with Mushtaq, a UK-based, Middle Eastern musician with a background in hip-hop, reggae and r'n'b Terry Hall has created an album no less groundbreaking and arresting than anything he has done in his career.

Terry Hall and Mushtaq's album couldn't be more in tune with today's headlines, fusing the Jewish and Arabic musical cultures which draws upon the duo's own lineage -- Terry Hall being a Polish refugee with a Jewish background and Mushtaq being a Middle Eastern Muslim. In some ways, the album is a return to Terry Hall's musical roots (you'll recall The Specials' breakthrough hit "Gangsters" was based around a Middle Eastern-influenced melody).Yet, together with Mushtaq, the album breaks bold new ground by creating a stunning topical tapestry of music. This melting pot of sounds features Jewish Gypsy music (from the group Romani Rad), a Mongolian throat singer, an Egyptian violinist, an Algerian rapper, a Turkish percussionist, a Syrian oud player, an Arabian pianist, and a Jewish Clarinet player whose resume includes being a sessions musician on the original "Pink Panther" theme! Even Blur and Gorillaz front man Damon Albarn provides guest vocals and instrumentation.

No wonder the album is positioned as an early contender for Britain's prestigious Mercury Prize awarded
for the best British album of the year reflecting originality and talent chosen by an independent jury of
industry leaders, musicians and critics.


"Everybody we worked with had a story to tell," says Terry Hall. "And their stories became part of the record. We were blessed with the range of people we found. But it really happened by accident."